Posted on 08/16/2020 12:38:56 PM PDT by BenLurkin
At least nine people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded in a gun and bomb attack by suspected al-Shabab fighters on an upmarket beachfront hotel in Somalia's capital, officials and witnesses have said.
Security forces were struggling to regain control of the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area more than an hour after the assault began on Sunday, amid fears the attackers had taken hostages.
Among the dead are two government employees, three hotel security guards and four civilians, police officer Ahmed Bashane told the DPA news agency.
Military vehicles could be seen taking positions around the hotel in the night, with officials concerned the darkness could prolong the siege.
Captain Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press that the attack started with a powerful car bomb which blew off the security gates to the Elite Hotel. Then gunmen ran inside and took hostages, mostly young men and women who were dining at the hotel, he said.
Security forces have so far shot dead two of the attackers in the hotel amid fears of hostage crisis inside the complex, said Ismail Mukhtar, a spokesman of Somalia’s information ministry.
Aamin Ambulance, a Mogadishu-based private service, reported that at least 28 people were wounded.
Witnesses confirmed the attack began with a heavy explosion and reported that people were running from the area as gunfire could be heard from the hotel, which is frequented by government officials.
"The blast was very heavy and I could see smoke in the area. There is chaos and people are fleeing from nearby buildings," said witness Ali Sayid Adan.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but it was similar to others carried out by the al-Shabab group, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda.
(Excerpt) Read more at aljazeera.com ...
OMG, it’s like downtown Portland over there!
Pro tip: For your next elite beach vaycay, skip Somalia.
Whewwww! I thought at first it was in Omar’s area.
My how times have changed.
Well, one thing for sure - there are several who won’t be coming to our country and running for Congress...every little bit will help!
“”He said he was an Black-American!””
Smart man. A strict definition of an African American is having ancestors who came to the U.S., from Africa as slaves. Has any black American ever provided that proof of ancestry? What on earth is wrong with being called just what your fellow pilot said - Black American. They were negroes, they were darkies, they were blacks - are they going to settle on African American or come up with something else? What’s left?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.